Suwon City Hosts 'Local Autonomy Innovation Empathy Forum' for High School Students

[Suwon Ilbo=Correspondent Seo Dong-young] Suwon City opened a 'Local Autonomy Innovation Empathy Forum' on the morning of December 11 at Hwahong High School in Gwonseon-gu for third-year prospective voters.

The educational program was designed to inform prospective voters who have completed the College Scholastic Ability Test of the reality of local autonomy and the necessity of local autonomy devolution, thereby laying the foundation for grassroots democracy, while also highlighting the importance of local autonomy devolution by presenting various relatable cases that students can easily understand and empathize with.

The program was conducted as a special lecture by Roh Min-ho, Secretary General of the Suwon Local Autonomy Devolution Council, on the topic "I'm Now a Voter: A New Story of Local Autonomy Devolution."

During his presentation, Secretary General Roh stated, "Young people must recognize themselves as sovereigns of the Republic of Korea and believe that they can work together to build a better society," and emphasized that "it is important to properly understand and implement local autonomy and autonomy devolution."

Suwon City plans to conduct educational programs for approximately 1,000 young students at four schools: Mangpo High School (December 16), Suwon Agriculture & Life Science High School (December 17), and Maehyang Girls Information High School (December 23).

A city official stated, "This will be a meaningful time for young people who will lead the future to understand grassroots democracy and think seriously about it."

Meanwhile, since 2013, Suwon City enacted the 'Local Autonomy Promotion and Support Ordinance' as the first basic local government to do so, and has been implementing various projects to build consensus including local autonomy devolution education for residents and young people.